And The Winner Is...

The Golden Dragons take the prize in our Father's Day Ugly Tie Contest! Congratulations to the poor soul who had to look happy when he received this! It's hard to say goodbye to all the lovely offerings everyone brought in, but we know that next year there will be lots more. We can't wait to see what you have stashed in your closet!

Fourth of July Reminder

We will be closed on Saturday, July 4th so we can enjoy all the festivities with our families. Please come by on Friday for some Sour Cream Fruit Pie, Cinnamon Swirl and Baguettes. Your holiday weekend won't be complete without them.

No Menu Change

Remember, our menu stays the same all summer long. You needn't worry about memorizing a new schedule on Wednesday. Just keep the one you have handy until the end of August. But keep your eye on this site, our website and our newsletter for exciting bargains and events.

We hope to see you soon. Your friends at The Great Harvest in Columbia.

http://greatharvestcolumbia.com

Better "Latte" Than Never

We are so happy to report that our Espresso machine is back. This has been a terrible ordeal for all of us as our beloved friend has been in and out of consciousness for many weeks. We finally had no choice but to send her off to the Coffee Clinic for a full work over.

Please come welcome her back by enjoying your favorite espresso drink at $.50 off the regular price through Friday.

Baker's Special

The Baker's Special today is Gouda Stout. This is another perfect bread for the grill so if you're planning a barbecue for the weekend, swing by and pick up a loaf.

See you soon! Your friends at The Great Harvest in Columbia.

http://greatharvestcolumbia.com/

Thanks for the Ties!

Here are a few pictures of some of the ties many of you brought in this past week during our Ugly Tie Contest.

This was a favorite among many members of our staff. We like the golden dragons!



Here is a pile of ties that one many generously gave us to give to charity on his behalf. Look at the cute kitties!

Here are some ties hanging on display

We estimate that we received about 100-125 Ugly Ties. All the ties will be taken to the Christian Women Thrift Store on Route 40 in Ellicott City. We haven't picked the contest winner yet! Stay tuned to learn who the Ugliest Tie in Columbia belonged to this year!

We hope to see you soon. Your friends at The Great Harvest in Columbia.

http://greatharvestcolumbia.com

Baker's Special

We have resumed our Wednesday Baker's Special for the Summer. If you aren't familiar with this, it's a great treat, especially if you like surprises. Our Baker's Special is a limited edition bread that is selected by one of our fabulous Sponge and Dough "chefs." Today we will have Pineapple Upside-down Bread. This bread is just like the delectable treat that your Grandma used to make it that cast iron frying pan. Our bread has big chunks of pineapple and a caramelly topping and is sweetened with pineapple juice. Remember, our Baker's Special breads are made in small batches and usually go fast. Hurry in and get yours now!

Your friends at the Great Harvest in Columbia.
http://greatharvestcolumbia,com

Summer Flavors

We will offer the same menu in June, July and August again this summer. We are very excited about all the delicious summer flavors we have to offer.

New this summer, we are offering a Caprese sandwich on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday each week. The Caprese sandwich has fresh mozzarella, basil pesto, ripe tomatoes, romaine lettuce and onion and is served on your our hard crusted breads. Another new summer sandwich is the Eastern Shore Salad. This is a seafood lovers delight with shrimp, crab, clams, lobster and scallops. Enjoy it on your choice of our fresh breads or try it on a bed of lettuce with tomato, cucumber and onion.

Sweet Treats
We will continue to offer all your favorite cookies, as well as some old and new favorite sweets. Back by popular demand is our Blue Ribbon Blueberry Coffee Cake. This yummy buttery delight is available in individual slices as well as quarter sheets. New this summer is Almond Pound Cake. This delectable goody is perfect to serve with fresh fruit, ice cream or sorbet at your summer cookouts.

Speaking of Cookouts...
Don't forget to join us on Friday, June 19th as we grill on the Great Harvest Patio. We will be sampling our savory breads like Spinach Feta, Caprese Bread, and Asiago Pesto prepared on the grill. We will also show you all the different ways you can use the Stonewall Kitchen Savory sauces to prepare some quick summer meals.

Come see us soon! Your friends at the Great Harvest in Columbia.
http://greatharvestcolumbia.com/

Heat

We make many sacrifices to provide you with fresh baked bread, 5 days a week. One of the biggest sacrifices is enduring the incredible heat in the bakery, especially when we are baking our hard crusted bread. Most of the items are baked at about 320 degrees. That's not too terrible to tolerate, even though the oven is about ten feet wide, ten feet deep and eight feet high.

But even the toughest of us start to feel the heat when it's time to bake the hard crusted breads. The oven temperature goes up to over 400 degrees and for about 2 hours we drink lots of water, sweat, drink some more water and sweat some more until the bread is done.

This temporary discomfort results in some fantastic bread that is crunchy on the outside and light and airy on the inside. If you didn't make it in to pick up a Baguette today, we hope you'll visit us for some next Friday. Our Baguettes make a fantastic choice for a sandwich, french toast and it also makes a great bread to soak up salad dressing on a fresh summer salad.

We hope you'll try some soon. Your friends at the Great Harvest in Columbia.

www.greatharvestcolumbia.com

A Few of our Favorite Things

While we do like the raindrops of roses made famous in the song from Sound of Music, we also have a lot of favorite creations, made with all the yummy things at Great Harvest! As the heat of summer drives you away from your kitchen and to the pool, here are a few of our favorite, fast, easy and healthy ideas for summer meals.

Terriyaki Turkey Burgers
These burgers have excellent flavor, are high in protein and low in fat and grill very nicely. Add about a half cup of the Stonewall Kitchen Sesame Ginger Terriyaki Sauce to a pound and a half of ground turkey. Mix in a half cup of bread crumbs and a half teaspoon each of cilantro, salt and pepper. Shape into small burgers and grill to taste. These delectable goodies taste great on our Challah rolls. No need to add cheese, but a little red pepper, lettuce, tomato and onion will do the trick. Even the burger purist in your house who only wants beef will be thrilled!

Grilled Burgundy Mushrooms
Don't you just love those big portobello mushrooms on the grill? We do! We jazz ours up with a little Stonewall Kitchen Burgundy Marinade. Add 1/4 of marinade to 1/4 of red wine, salt and pepper to taste and marinate your mushrooms for 4-6 hours. Grill to taste and serve on our wonderful Ciabatta rolls (available on Wednesdays). If you prefer a smaller mushroom, any variety will do. Just place them on a skewer and grill away.

Hot and Sweet Shrimp Sandwich
We crave food with ZING in the summer and our Stonewall Kitchen Peach Mango Hot Sauce is a perfect way to liven up your favorite grilled chicken. If seafood is your thing, we recommend this fun summer recipe. Marinate shrimp in 1/4 Stonewall Kitchen Peach Mango Hot Sauce, 1/4 white wine, salt and pepper to taste for 4-6 hours. Grill on skewers with red peppers, and onion. If you're like me, you find skewered meat kind of dull once it is removed from the skewer and put on a plate. Why not serve it up as a sandwich? We recommend Ciabatta or Baguette.

Don't forget to join us next Friday, June 19th for our grilling extravaganza on the patio. We will have some of these recipes for you and many, many more!

Hope to see you then. Your friends at The Great Harvest in Columbia.
http://greathrvestcolumbia.com

One Man's Trash...

Will get you a free loaf of bread at the Great Harvest! One of our all time favorite promotional events is collecting Ugly Ties for Father's Day. Between now and June 20th, if you bring in an Ugly Tie, you can get a free loaf of Honey Whole Wheat bread. We will display all the ties in the store. Come by and take a look. You will be amazed at some of the selections. Be sure to give us your name and phone number with your tie. The ugliest tie will win a prize!

Incredible Response

We want to thank you for the incredible response to our hard crusted breads. We will offer hard crusted breads on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of each week. Just like our other breads, our hard crusted breads are available as rolls for all your special occasions. If you are planning a barbecue, shower or other event this summer, please call us! We can help you with sandwich trays, dessert trays and breads or rolls for any occasion.

How about a Nice Piece of Pie?

Our Sour Cream Fruit Pies were a hit yesterday. We made twelve pies. They were out of the oven at 10:00 AM and gone by 3:00 pm. The pies will be on the menu on Fridays all summer long. They are sweet and creamy with a delicious slightly crunchy topping. They will make the perfect addition to your summer cookout. We will offer different flavors each week. Call ahead to reserve yours now! They go fast.

Your friends at The Great Harvest in Columbia

http://greatharvestcolumbia.com/

It's Official!

The moment you've been waiting for is here! Our hard crusted breads are officially on the menu. On Wednesdays each week (at least in June) we will offer Ciabatta and a variety of Sourdough. On Thursdays, we'll have a variety of Multi-grain Sourdough and on Fridays, we'll have Baguette. Our hard crusted breads our fresh and tasty, free of all the preservatives you find in the hard crusted breads at the grocery store. Stop by and try some today!

Farmer's Market

It looks like the rain will keep us away from the East Columbia Farmer's Market today. But have no fear, beginning Sunday, June 14th. you can see us at the market in Oakland Mills. Two markets a week! We try to bring a little sampling of the many tasty treats we have in our store. The selection changes week to week. We hope to see you at one of the markets very soon.

Your friends at The Great Harvest in Columbia

http://greatharvestcolumbia.com/

Say Cheese for Summer

Enjoy your favorite Great Harvest Breads grilled! Brush your favorite cheesy bread with olive oil and grill to perfection for a delicious accompaniment to your cook outs. Try our Foccacia, Cheddar Garlic, Caprese (sun-dried tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese), Spinach Feta or Asiago Pesto. Yum!

New in June

Well, call us a lot of things (tasty, wholesome, etc.) but don't forget creative! We have added a "Caprese" sandwich and a Caprese bread to our summer line up. The bread is made of fresh milled wheat and has mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil pesto- - yum oh! The Caprese Sandwich is made with fresh mozzarella cheese, basil pesto, tomato and romaine on a freshly made Ciabatta roll or Baguette. Stop by and taste these wonderful new additions to our bread board.

Fresh Summer Fruit from Great Harvest

An explosion for your mouth! It's our 100% delicious Sour Cream Fruit Pies! Our pies will be available every Friday we are open all summer long
Star Spangle Banner Swirl Bread is back, This delicious bread features juicy cherries, blueberries and white chocolate in a swirl of sweetness. This bread makes a wonderful treat for any occasion.

Enjoy our Treats Outside!

We have added two additional tables and many chairs on the patio outside and hope that you will come and enjoy the weather and a sandwich or breakfast. The Friday before Father's Day, June 19th from 12pm -1 pm, we will be grilling breads on the patio and using some of the finest grilling sauces in the land, Stonewall Kitchen!! Come on out and enjoy a special treat!

All Natural Dog Treats

The freshest, tastiest dog treats in town! Great Harvest dog treats are made with 100% premium whole wheat, without additives or preservatives. Dogs love 'em! We love dogs!

Thank those Teachers one More Time!

For those of you looking for a nice way to say thank you to the teachers and co-workers in school, we have gift cards and grab and go gifts that are the perfect way to express your appreciation. Also, please remember to stop in to the store before you go on vacation and take some fantastic bread and breakfast treats with you. Many people over the years have told us that it was a great way to ensure that the family and their friends were still eating healthy while they were away.

Have a great summer and don't forget your friends at Great Harvest - - come visit us and continue to eat healthy, wholesome and fantastic fresh baked bread products. To all of our customers and friends we wish you a safe, happy and relaxing summer.

The Great Harvest Team